Frequently Asked Questions about the Annual Report Online

See below for answers to common questions regarding:

General
Questionnaire Page
Program Page
Data
Summary Page
Completion/Submission

General Questions:

Q: When are the materials due for the 2009 Annual Report?
A: The Annual Report Online (ARO), all materials (including the submission of the online report and any narrative Annual Reports) will be due on or before September 15, 2009.

Q: Why isn't my data saving?
A: Please make sure that you entered values for the required fields that are specified in the Instructions. If you are still unable to save your data, then it may be a technical issue. You should first try to reboot your system and then contact the Research Assistant if the problem persists. All technical issues are handled through our ITS department at APA in a quick and efficient manner.

Q: What is the time frame within which the data is supposed to be based on? Where can I access detailed information that explains these time frames?
A: The time frame for the 2009 Annual Report is 2008–2009. The Reporting Period your program chose the first time the ARO was completed indicates the exact dates in the time frame. In case your program does not know the reporting period provided to us, it is located on the Program page in the Program Information section. The reporting period is also shown at the top of the Summary page. If you need to change your reporting period, please contact the Research Assistant.

Q: What information should I provide the Research Assistant with when I have a question about the Annual Report Online?
A: Whenever you contact the Research Assistant, please be sure to indicate your six-digit login identification number so she can access your program information to better assist you.

Q: When will I be locked out of the Annual Report Online?
A: You will be unable to make any additions/changes once the September 15th date passes. Prior to then, you may revise the report as often as you would like.

Q: When I try to enter and/or save my data, the screen sometimes takes me back to the login page? Am I doing something wrong?
A: If your connection shows no activity for 20 minutes, you are logged out of the system and taken back to the original login page. This is set for the possibility of you stepping away from your computer and forgetting to return - leaving your information vulnerable. If this happens, a click on any hyperlink or button will redirect you back to the "Login" screen.

Q: What happens after the September 15th deadline passes?
A:  • Programs will no longer be able to make additions or changes to their report until the 2009 Annual Report becomes available.
      • Programs cannot log into their Annual Report to view and print off any of the records for their reference.
      • The Summary page will not be available.

Q: How are the identification numbers assigned?
A: Identification numbers are generated by a concatenation of:[Year Started with Program]+[Program Number]+[Order person was entered for year started with program]

Q: What dates should be used in reporting the academic year?
A: The academic year generally falls between September 1st – August 31st. However, there are programs that begin in June and finish the next year in July. For the report, please include the beginning and ending dates that apply to your program. When we do analysis, we are primarily concerned that the individual falls within the right year. If you do not know the reporting period that was entered for your program, please look on the Program page, the Summary page, or contact the Research Assistant for the dates.

Q: What happens if I do not complete the Annual Report Online?
A: According to the G&P, Accredited programs are reviewed annually by written report. If the report is incomplete or raises questions about the program's continued consistency with the G&P, the CoA may, at any time, request additional information or an invitation for a site visit. If an ARO is not submitted for the year, the CoA will be notified.

Q: In my last Decision Letter, I was asked to provide a narrative response to the Commission at the time of the next Annual Report. Is there a place where I can send that additional information online?
A: No, there is currently no mechanism by which you can submit narrative responses online. If your program has been asked to submit a narrative report to the CoA, please send a hard copy via standard mail addressed to:

Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
RE: Narrative Response
American Psychological Association
750 First St., NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242

Q: I would like to pass out the forms to individuals in my program to fill out themselves. Is there a way I can get the forms before I start on the ARO?

or

This is my first time doing the ARO. Could you please tell me what data I need to collect for my program?
A: There are ARO data prep sheets located at the Accreditation home page (http://www.apa.org/ed/accreditation/). Please select and print out the type of program sheets you need to distribute to your program or to just see what data is needed for the report. These sheets are available all year round.

Q: Is there a way to print out the individual forms without the infobits?
A: Yes, there is. Please select Show/Hide Instructions to remove the infobits. Press it again to make the infobits return.

Q: Does the ARO website only show up in Internet Explorer?
A: The ARO website should now work in all internet browsers. Please contact the Research Assistant with any issues.

Q: I would like to send the ARO Data Prep Sheets via email, can I have it in the Word format instead of PDF?
A: You can contact the Research Assistant and she can email you the Data Prep Sheets for your type of program.

Questionnaire Page Questions:

Q: Is the program questionnaire the same as the student/intern page?
A: No, the program questionnaire asks program directors to provide aggregate data for their programs. The student/intern pages are designed for program directors to provide individual data for all of those who are currently enrolled or active in the program. One other difference is you can only submit questionnaire page once. You can't go back and make corrections like you would do on intern/student pages.

Q: Why isn't the program questionnaire being accepted when I submit it?
A: All of the fields have to be completed with numerical data. If a field is not applicable, enter a 0 in the field, not N/A.

Q: In reviewing the summary page, I realized that I made a mistake on the questionnaire page. What can I do to fix it?
A: The questionnaire page can be filled out ONCE a year only. If you have made a mistake, please contact the Research Assistant to make changes once the page is submitted.

Program Page Questions:

Q: How long will it take for changes on the program page (i.e., names, addresses, etc.) to be reflected on the Annual Report Online? AQ
A: Minor changes such as address, phone number, and email address should appear immediately after entered. Changes that require contacting our office may take longer to appear. We suggest that you check back approximately 2-3 days after requesting the change.My program's accreditation history status is wrong. How can I correct this? If your accreditation history is incorrect. Please contact our Research Assistant andiIn inform her about this mistake. We are in the process of fixing this problem. H However, in the mean time we do appreciate your cooperation and your patience.

Q: My program is a consortium. How can I enter the names and addresses of all of the Directors for all of the sites in the consortium on the Program Page?
A: Unfortunately, depending on how large your consortium is, you may not be able to add all of the names and addresses on the website. However, decision letters and other important correspondence will be mailed to all Directors in the consortium and not to just the address on the Annual Report Online website.

Data Questions:

Q: Is there a way that I can enter student/intern/resident or faculty/supervisor names to help me keep track of the individual records?
A: Yes, on the bottom of the demographics page, there is a section entitled "Notes". This section enables you to put in any identifying information about the person. The section is solely for your benefit and is not collected or used for data analysis.

Q: Should students be classified as "graduated" once they walk or once they fulfill all of their program requirements?
A: Students should only be classified as "graduates" once they complete all of their program requirements, as indicated on their school transcripts.

Q: Why am I unable to view the student/intern/faculty/supervisor information once I enter a date graduated/left program? (Archived Folder)
A: Once a value is entered for "date left program", if the date is located outside of the current reporting period, the record will be moved to the Archived section. However, if the date falls within the reporting period, the record will remain on the active side.

Q: What edits/changes can I make once I save a record?
A: Program Questionnaire: Once you submit the questionnaire, any changes will need to be made by the Research Assistant. Please contact the Research Assistant with your program number and the item(s) that need to be corrected.

Records:

You can add data to fields that you leave blank, and you can also change a value in a field once it has been saved at anytime before September 15th. If a record needs to be deleted, this change will also need to be made by the Research Assistant. Please contact the Research Assistant with the type of record (student/intern/resident/faculty/supervisor), record number, and the reason why the record needs to be deleted.

Q: What does "Canadian Institution" under the category ethnicity refer to?
A: "Canadian Institution" is an option that was created for institutions in Canada that do not have to report the ethnicity of individuals within their program. Therefore, the individuals themselves are not necessarily Canadian, this selection means that the program for which the individual attends is in Canada and is thus exempt from answering this question. Only choose this option if your program is located in Canada, not if the individual is Canadian.

Q: Which faculty/supervisors need to be entered into the Annual Report?
A: Please include all individuals that contribute their time or play a role in the program, regardless of their employment status. For further details regarding faculty classification, please look at the infobit for the question.

Q: Which date do I enter for the faculty's "date hired" field?
A: In the "Date hired" field, please indicate the faculty's first date of affiliation with the program (regardless of employment status). If there was a break in employment, select the most current date of affiliation with the program.

Q: Why is there a section called "post-graduation/post-internship/post-residency activities" that asks about the 2007–2008 student/intern/resident class, when I am filling out records for the 2008–2009 year?
A: In the Annual Report Online, you will need to revisit the records for the individuals who left during the 2007–2008 year and update the records on the post-internship/post-graduation activities of these individuals.

Q: I filled out these questions last year! Why are some of the data missing and some of the other data still in the records?
A: Every year, the Professional Activities section must be completed for all people who were involved or active in the program during the 2008–2009 year. The Professional Activities section is cleared every year for re-entry. We find that the answers for the other questions usually stay the same. However, if an answer in the other questions of a record changes, please update it accordingly.

Please rest assured that the data is stored in our database and if you need to know what was entered, please contact the Research Assistant and she can tell you or send it to you.

Q: I have a person in my program that was not active during last year. What do I put for their professional activities?
A: In the event that a person in your program was not active in your program during the reporting period, you now have the option of indicating "N/A" for the professional activities section instead of choosing "no" or leaving it blank.

Q: I have many supervisors on my list, but they are not always active every year. They are still with the program, but some years they may supervise students and other years they may not. What do I do?
A: If they are still with the program but they were inactive for a reporting period, please indicate "N/A" in their records for the professional activities section. Also, while we want all of the information for every record, we do realize that it can be hard to collect data for individuals who are not core members.

Q: Why are some of the record numbers on the list in bold and the others are not?
A: The records in bold are core faculty/supervisors. We would like all data entered in all of the records, but these records must be completed. If they are incomplete, your program will be reported to the CoA.

Q: I have a student/faculty member whose gender/race/ethnicity is not listed as an option. What do I do?
A: For gender, please list the gender the individual identifies with. For race/ethnicity, we go by the system the Census bureau has created. Please check with their groupings for how to categorize the individual.

Q: I am unsure how to classify a student's enrollment status? What should I do?
A: Please follow your school's policy regarding student enrollment status.

Summary Page Questions:

Q: What do I need to do with the "Summary" page?
A: You cannot enter data directly to the Summary page because the data shown is the data your program provided on the other pages of the ARO. It is there for you to verify the data entered in your report for your program. Please remember that the data found on the Summary page are dependent on the data you provided throughout the ARO. If you would like, you can save the summary page for your records.

Q: I am preparing my self-study. Can I see the Summary page for my archived individuals?
A: Unfortunately, a summary page is not available for the Archived Individuals at this time. If you need a list of archived information, please contact the Research Assistant and she can provide an Excel spreadsheet of the data your program submitted on previous Annual Reports Online.

Q: The calculations on the Summary page are incorrect. How are they being calculated?
A: The calculations are being calculated using the total number of students/interns/residents/faculty/supervisors in the program for that part. Sections (such as Practicum Hours) may have low averages because of this factor. However, when we do our analysis only the individuals who the section refers to are used.

Completion/Submission Questions:

Q: What pages do I need to complete in order for my Annual Report Online to be considered complete?
A: Instructions for the Annual Report online are provided on the ARO website and the Accreditation home page. It walks you through what you need to complete in order for your Annual Report Online to be finished. The questionnaire, Program page, Student/Intern/Resident pages, and Faculty/Supervisor pages are the four sections that are required for the Annual Report Online.

Q: What fields are required in order for a record to be considered complete?
A: Programs are required to provide information on all the fields in the Annual Report, unless otherwise noted. Also, the Professional Activities section must be completed every year for the record to be considered complete.

Q: When I have finished entering all of the data, is it possible to see what I have entered to ensure that I have entered everything accurately?
A: It is possible to see most of what you entered on the questionnaire and the active sections of your report. When you have finished entering all of the data for your program and would like to verify your data, go to the "Summary" page and check if the tabulated figures match your records. If it is accurate, please press the Email button to have a copy of the Summary sheet sent to the email address in the box.

Q: I want to submit my report. Where is the submit button?
A: There is no "submit" button for the report. As you save records, the data is entered and saved into our database. In the event you choose to go back to the record and change some data, that change will automatically update in our database when you resave the record.

Q: Shouldn't the Summary Page go to APA ? Why do I email it to myself?
A: Hitting email on the Summary Page will send an email to the person's email in the field for review and verification. Please do not change that email to the Research Assistant's email address. After you successfully enter all of your data and click on the email button, you will get a "pop up message congratulating you for finishing your data entry process. If you want to go back and make changes to your report, anytime after you click on the email button, you still can go back and make those changes.